Sugar breaking and packing machine.



I. BARDET.)

SUGAR BREAKING AND PACKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24, I914. 1,218,355. Patented Mar, 6, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I INVEIVT'DK JEAN BARDET W ATTORNEYS J. BARDET.

SUGAR BREAKING AND PACKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24 I914.

1,218,355. Patented Mar. 6, 1917.

3 suns-sues? 2.

wlruesscs INVENTOR J. BARDET.

SUGAR BREAKING AND PACKING MACHINE.

Patentgd Mar. 6, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3 INVENTOK,

T6 R m A, 5 w A .M J.

JEAN BARDET, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

SUGAR BREAKING AND PACKING MACHINE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 6, 1917.-

Applieation filed June 24, 1914. Serial No. 847,010.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEAN BARDET, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at 35 Rue dAlsace, Paris, in the Republic of France, engineer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sugar Breaking and Packing Machines, of which the following is a. specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for breaking and packing sugar. The purpose of which is to simplify the construction and improve the operation ofthe means whereby the sugar in the form of rectangular ingots is fed to the breaking blades to break them into pieces whereby the pieces of such ingots are fed to the pasteboard boxes used for the packing of sugar.

The features of such invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 and l are detail vertical sec-- tions of the machine, such views being connected together on the line XX.

Fig. 2 is a detail elevation of the supply side for the lumps.

Fig. 3 is a corresponding detail plan.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the frame for the boxes serving to pack the sugar.

Fig. 5 is a plan of a part of such frame.

1 designates the table of the breaking member on which a certain number of passages are formed by guides 2, 3 and 4, Fig. 8, the inner walls of the latter being slightly bell-mouthed toward the entrance of the passages.

Arranged parallel with the table is an endless conveyer, made up of several endless belts 5, Fig. 1, continuously moving and sliding on fixed bars 6. The ingots 7 are supplied by any suitable means or by hand on the end of the conveyer; they then lie separate from one another by spaces of any width. Carried forward by the belts 5, they are supplied in front ofthe table 1 and come against each other when the first ingot 1s brought to a stop against an abutment 8, which is secured in an adjustable manner by means of a screw 9, Figs. 2 and 3.

The upper lengths of the belts lie a little below the level of the table, so the ingots have to be lifted to pass onto the latter. Such lifting is done by an elevator consisting in a sort of grate the bars .10 of which pass between the belts and are carried by two vertical rods 11, Fig. 2, movable in guides 12 and receiving an upward and downward motion. Such motion is produced for instance by cams 13 provided with inclined groovesand fixed on a bar 14 having a horizontal reciprocatory motion, and acting on the friction-rollers 15 mounted on the rods 11. The bar 14: is connected by a link 16 with a lever 17 moved by a cam 18.

Each time the elevator moves up, it lifts all the ingots stopped by the abutment and crowded against one another, so as to bring their lower faces slightly above the level of the table 1 as shown in Fig, 2.

The bars 10 comprise av horizontal part, which extends in front of all the feed passages, and of the abutment 8 and up to the point 19, and an inclined part 1920 the lower end 20 of which rests underneath the belts 5 even when the elevator is lifted. The slope of the inclined part 192O is such that the friction of the belts on the lumps located against the said inclined part is not sufiicient to carry the same up said inclined part in the raised position of the elevator, and the belts thereby cause the ingots to:

crowd together in front of the said inclined part.

The ingots are moved from the elevator onto the table by a primary pushing member 21, having a horizontal reciprocating motion between the positions I and II (see Fig. 1) such pushing member comprises a series of flat and inclined fingers 22, located respectively in front of the passages of the breaking element and each having a width a little less than that of the corresponding passage, Fig. 3. The ends of the pusher 21 are mounted on slides 21 movable in slideways 21 and connected by the links 21 with the operating levers 21 the latter being controlled by a cam not shown.

The space of the passages, measured from one axis tothe other, is a multiple of the nor mal thickness of the ingots, so that all the groups of lumps brought to a stop in front of the passages lie in positions substantially the same with respect to the edges of the entrance of such passages, the only possible differences arising from the small irregularities in the thickness of the ingots. The position of the abutment 8 is so regulated that each group of ingots appears nearly symmetrically with respect to the corresponding passage. The result is that, on the movement of the pusher 21, from I toward 11, each finger 22 forces into the respective passage just the number of ingots which it ought to receive. The intermediate ingots located in front of the spaces between the fingers 22, tend to follow the other ingots by reason of their mutual adherence, but they are held back by the outer ends of the guides 4 located at the entran of the passages. By such means are overcome the difficulties which have appeared hitherto on account of the irregularities in the sizes of the ingots.

When the ingots thus pushed by the lin= gers 22 are supplied on the table, the levator moves down again and leaves on the conveyer the reniaining ingots. The latter, carried forward again, come and crowd together against the abutment 8 and are soon joined by the group of ingots previously stopped by the sloping part 192(). As soon as there is a sufficient number of ingots crowded together, the elevator rises again, and so on.

The feed mechanism shown comprises also a centering device serving to place exactly in the middle of each passage the group of ingots which is inserted more or less dis symmetrically therein on account of the unavoidable variations in the thickness.

Such device consists in a series of pegs 23, 24 secured on a horizontal bar 25 which receives a reciprocatory movement in a direction perpendicular to the passages; such movement is produced for instance by means of a lever 26, Fig. 1, connected by a link 27 with another lever 28, Fig. 2, controlled by a cam associated with the cam 18; the bar 25 is carried by two levers 29, 30 the former of which is connected with the lever 26 by a rock shaft 31. The pegs project above the table 1, which is provided with gaps suitable for their passage, and they reciprocate at the left and right of the guides l, under which they are held in. the position of rest. Their reciprocatory movement takes place during the stoppage provided in the stroke of the pusher 21 from I to II; it comprises a first stroke at the left, such that each group of ingots located at the left of a pair of pegs is pushed a little beyond the desired symmetrical posi tion, a second stroke, in the inverse direction, such that the group of ingots located at the right of the same pair of pegs is pushed just to the desired symmetrical position, and a third stroke, from right to left, restoring the pegs to their position of rest.

Such centering has for its purpose to prevent the ingots from striking against the convergent parts of the passages and then from taking defective oblique positions, which isto be feared on account of the considerable friction of the ingots either against the walls and the table, or against one another.

Between the pusher 21 and the breaking blades 5-0 is arranged a second pusher which is mounted on the slides 51 movable in guides 51 and actuated by a lever 51 the latter being controlled by a cam not shown in such a manner that the pusher 51 reciprocates between the positions Ill and TV. Such pusher is provided with fingers 52 which in the position HI lie a little above and a little behind the fingers of the pusher 21; it is pivotally mounted on the slides 51 so that the fingers 52 can be 7 lifted to pass above the ingots fed by the first pusher, on the return of the second pi'lsher from IV to III.

The feed movements of the pushers are intermittent so that the ingots are fed step by step to the breaking blades 50.

The latter are secured on the supports 53 which are jointed to the arms 54: fixed on the shafts 55 receiving a reciprocatory movement from means not shown, such that each shaft rocks each time in a direction inverse to the other, thus causing the blades 50 to approach or to move away. Each time that the ingots are advanced by one or the other of the pushers 21 and 51, the blades 50 approach each other and break the ingots into pieces.

In front of the table 1 on which the ingots slide'lies a fixed table 63 divided into bars 64;. Between the latter pass the bars 65 of a movable table which can move vertically or horizontally; for that purpose the ends of such table form horizontal slides 66 each guided on a 'l' shaped support 67 the vertical part of which is guided in a stationary guide 68. The horizontal movement is controlled by means of connecting rods 69 coupled with the slide-ways 66 and the vertical movement by means of swinging arms 70 actuating the supports 67.

The pieces of sugar 71 issuing from the breaking mechanism advance continuously on the liXed bars 64;, between the lateral guides 2 and 3, and pushing before them the fingers 73 which are carried by a swinging frame 7% subjected to the action of springs 7 The yielding pressure of such fingers prevents the tilting of the pieces of sugar forwardly. When the predetermined number of the pieces lying on the table (Si is complete, such pieces are lifted by the bars 65 which then rise to bring the same between the parts 76 and 77 of the conveyer clips.

The latter are supported by a cross bar 78 the ends of which slide horizontally on a support in the shape of a cross 79- which also slides vertically on the main frame of the machine. The upward and downward movements are produced by means of a connecting-rod 81 coupled to each support 79, and of a swinging arm 82 fixed on the shaft 83, while the horizontal mover a I J ilG ments are produced by means of swinging arms 84 connected with the vertical guides 85 formed on the ends of the cross bar 78.

The blades 76 are rigidly secured to such cross bar, while the blades 77 are jointed therewith around an axis 86 and are urged by springs 87 to approach the first named blades; on the axis 86 can also swing a lever 88 carrying a cross bar 89 which serves to push away the blades 77 against the action of their springs. Such lever is actuated, when the system of clips comes to one of the ends of its horizontal stroke (see Fig. 1), by a fixed abutment 90, in such a manner that the conveyer clips lie open to receive the load of sugar lifted by the movable bars 65. As soon as the clips are moved toward the right, they escape from the action of the abutment and they come together to con vey the sugar from the movable table up to a position above the packing box 32. The load of sugar is then lowered by the clips into such box. At this moment, a lever 92 fixed on a shaft 93 acts on the upper end of the lever 88 to slacken the clips, thus allowing the latter to move up without carrying the sugar away. The latter is moreover kept in the box by means of pressure member 94 which is mounted on the cross bar 78. Such member consists in a horizontal plate associated with a vertical rod 95 slidable through a guide 96 secured to the cross bar 78 and through a friction slide 97 subjected to the action of a spring 98. The friction of such slide on the rod 95 is s'uflicient to prevent the pressure member from falling under the action of gravity. Aneck 99 is provided at the upper part of the rod 95 and in such neck is loosely engaged a slotted part 100 of a cross piece 101 which is vertically guided on the cross-bar 78. To such cross-piece is secured a vertical rod 102 designed to be tilted by an abutment arm 103 loosely mounted on the shaft 93 and which is yieldingly connected through the medium of a spring 104 with an arm 105 keyed on such sha When the system of conveyer clips lies near the breaking mechanism (see Fig. 1), the rod 102 is not engaged with the arm 103 and the pressure member 94 isfree to move up when it is lifted by the load of sugar which hasjust been placed between the clips.

During the conveyance of the sugar from the breaking mechanism to the packing box, the pressure member is thus lifted with regard to the cross-bar 78, its weight being counter-balanced by the friction of the slide 97.

When the clip system comes to the bottom of its stroke, the shaft 93 swings in the direction of the arrow A, so that the arms 92 and 105 come to the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the arm 92 slackening the clips while the arm 105 pulls the abutment bar 103 above the rod 102.

The result is that on the upward movement of the crossbar 78 and of the clips, the pressure member 94 remains stationary at first and holds the sugar in the box. WVhen the clips are opened above the pressure member 94, the shaft 93 swings in the inverse direction; the lever 88 and the rod 102 are thus released, so that the clips close again and the pressure plate is enabled to follow the upward movement of the cross-bar 78.

On the return of the clip system near to the breaking mechanism (see Fig. 1), the lever 88 strikes again the abutment 90 and thus causes the clips to open again to receive the new load of sugar in the same manner as hereinbefore described.

106 designates a fixed crossbar which extends above the fixed table 63 and which, on the upward movement of the movable bars 65, serves to hold the pieces of sugar that the latter have not directly carried away, but which are urged to such carrying away by the friction of the pieces of sugar resting on such bars.

The pasteboard boxes 32- are placed in front of the respective passages, in the fixed cages 33, the bottom of each box 32 resting on a vertically movable support 34 which, on being lowered, can put the box onto the endless conveyer 35 passing under all the cages 33. In order to facilitate the insertion into the box 32 of the sugar and the clips which hold such sugar, shutters 36, 36 are placed at the entrance of the cage, on the four sides, and are enabled to swing around horizontal axes 37, 37*; three of these axes 37 are invariably fixed on the cage, and the fourth axis 37"-, is carried by a swinging yoke 39 which is placed on the front of the cage and which swings around a journal 40.

The swinging of all these shutters is pro duced by the upward and downward movements of a movable lifter 41 carried by a bar 42 which is vertically guided; the said lifter carries on its three sides lugs 43 in which are engaged axes 44 mounted on the shutters 36, outside the axes 37 and the ends of the lifter are provided with horizontal grooves45 in which are engaged the ends of an axis 46 which is mounted on the front shutter 36 outside the axis 37 The lowering of the lifter 41 has the effect of raising toward the center of the entrance of the cage the lower parts of all the shutters, which allows of the box 32, then lifted by the support 34, coming under the said shut ters without abutting their lower edges. When the lifter 41 rises again, the shutters stand up as shown by the drawings and their lower parts are applied against the inner faces of the box 32. The clips and the load of sugar which they hold are then en- 1 abled to move down into the cage between the shutters to put the sugar in the box 32, without the edges of the latter running any risk of either being hooked or torn. The mobility of the yoke 39 and of the shutter 36 which it carries, around the journals 40, has the effect of allowing the passage of the clips and of the load of sugar, in case the length of the latter is, on account of the irregularities of the shape of the pieces, some what greater that the normal length expected; the shutter 36 and the yoke 89 are then pushed slightly outwardly against the action of the contracting springs 47 which act on the parts of the yoke. he grooves 4115 then. allow a backward movement of the axis 4 6, so that the shutter 36 remains applied against the wall of the pasteboard box 32, which yields slightly.

It must be understood that the feed of the ingots to the breaking mechanism is effected in this machine by means suitable for bringing in front of the series of breaking members a horizontal row of ingots which are all juxtaposed and by means suitable whereby to withdraw from such series of ingots as many groups of ingots as there are breaking members and leaving in place the intermediate ingots which correspond to the spaces between the said breaking members. In the embodiment shown and described, the means for withdrawing the required groups of ingots consist in the fingers 22 of the pusher 21 which move transversely to the series of ingots according to a hori- Zontal direction and which serve also to push the said groups of ingots into the passage ways leading to the breaking members, abutments & being placed in front of the intervals of the passage ways to keep the intermediate ingots in place. It will be easily understood that the means for separating the groups of ingots may consist as well on the one hand in an elevator having a vertical motion such as the one 10, 11 but having indented bars 10 the projections of which correspond to the passage ways and on the other hand in a pusher having a horizontal motion such as the one 21, whigh will push into the passage ways only those ingots which are lifted by the projections of the elevator; in this case the abutments such as 4i are still arranged in front of the intervals of the passage ways, but above the elevator to stop the intermediate lumps which the groups would lift by adherence. Anyhow, the required separation will be effected, firstly, by members having reciprocatory motion in a transverse direction with regard to the horizontal row of juxtaposed ingots brought by the feed devices in front of the breaking members and, secondly, by fixed abutment members placed in front of the intervals of the breaking members, such abutment members being, if

s0 devised, the partitions of the passage ways which guide the ingots to the breaking blades.

. It must also be understood that the employment of the two pushers hereinbefore described, for the purpose of providing a continuous supply of the ingots to the breaking members, is optional, as a single pusher having a reciprocatory motion may be em ployed, but then the feed to the breaking devices would be interrupted during each return stroke of such pusher.

Claims:

1. A. sugar breaking and packing machine comprising a series of breaking members, each breaking member having two blades and an upward and downward movement,

an endless conveyer placed parallel to and in front of the series of breaking members to feed the ingots to be broken, a fixed abutment placed above the said conveyer to stop the ingots fed by the latter, a series of pushing members placed respectively in front of the breaking members and having a reciprocating motion with regard to the conveyer, the said pushing members being adapted to carry away from the row of ingots m the conveyer respective groups of ingots toward the breaking members, fixed. abutment members placed in front of the intervals of the breaking members and of the intervals of the said pushing members and adapted to stop the intermediate ingots which the said groups of ingots would carry away by adherence when they are pushed away by the said pushing members, and means whereby to convey the pieces issuing from the breaking members.

2. A sugar breaking and packing machine comprising a series of breaking members, each breaking member having two blades and an upward and downward movement, a horizontal table, guides on such table to guide the ingots to be broken, such guides forming passage ways in front of the respective breaking members, an endless conveyer the top of which is placed underneath the table and extends in front of the series of breaking members and of the passage ways respectively, to feed the ingots to be broken, a fixed abutment to stop the ingots on the conveyer, an elevator having an upward and downward movement and the top of which moves up to the level of the table and down to the level of the conveyer, such elevator being adapted to lift from the conveyer all the row of ingots at the same time, a pusher having a horizontal reciprocatory movement across the conveyer and having fingers in front of the said passage ways, each finger being adapted tocarry a group of ingots away into the said passage ways, and the said guides on the table being adapted to stop the ingots placed in front of the intervals of the said fingers, and means whereby to convey the pieces of sugar issuing from the breaking members.

3. A sugar breaking and packing machine comprising a series of breaking members, each breaking member having two blades and an upward and downward movement, a table, guides on such table, forming passage ways in front of the respective breaking members, a conveyer placed parallel to and in front of the series of breaking members to feed the ingots to be broken, means whereby to push groups of ingots from the conveyer and into the respective passage ways up to the breaking members, a series of cages fixed in front of the respective breaking members, such cages being adapted to accommodate the sugar boxes, elevating means in the said cages to raise and lower the said boxes, conveying means having vertical and horizontal movements to convey the pieces of sugar from the breaking members'and into such respective boxes, each of the said cages having at its upper part a rectangular opening for the insertion of the said conveying means, shutters jointed to the three sides of the said opening, a swinging support placed at the fourth side of the opening, springs pushing such support toward the opening, a shutter jointed to the said support, and means whereby to swing the four said shutters together.

4'. In a sugar breaking and packing machine the combination of a series of endless belts placed parallel and extending horizontally, a fixed abutment, a series of bars each having a horizontal part and an inclined part and placed in the intervals of the said belts, and means whereby to raise and lower all such bars together, so that in the lower position the bars are entirely underneath the belts and that in the upper position the bars, save the bottom of their inclined part, are entirely above the belts, the lower part of the bars being placed at the incoming side of the belts and the said abutment being placed above the said belts and the said bars at the outgoing side of the belts.

5. A machine of the class described, com- I prising a support, a feed table, an elevator,

means for. conveying articles from said table to a position above said elevator by desired numbers, means for actuating said elevator to carry said articles upwardly, article breaking members, means for moving said articles thereto from said elevator, by groups, means for actuating said breaking members, a plurality of packing box cages, and means for carrying each of said groups of articles to and depositing the same into a corresponding box.

7. A machine of the class described, co1nprising a feeding table, means for removing any desired number of articles from said table intermittently, article breaking members, means for conveying said articles to said breaking members in groups of predetermined number, and having each a predetermined number of articles, means for actuating said breaking members, and means for packing said groups of broken articles in suitable packing boxes.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MAURICE Roux, CHARLES CARDIVEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O, 

